


WILL GRAHAM: SAVANT OR FRAUD?

by iimpavid, scarebeast



Series: transmogrification [4]
Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Gen, Multimedia, News Media, Psychic Abilities, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-25
Updated: 2018-08-25
Packaged: 2019-06-25 23:13:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15650892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iimpavid/pseuds/iimpavid, https://archiveofourown.org/users/scarebeast/pseuds/scarebeast
Summary: We here at Tattlecrime pride ourselves on our dogged pursuit of the truth and clarity in the face of authorities that would prefer obfuscation and murk.





	WILL GRAHAM: SAVANT OR FRAUD?

 

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TATTLECRIME DEEP DIVE: WILL GRAHAM, SAVANT OR FRAUD?

_We here at Tattlecrime pride ourselves on our dogged pursuit of the truth and clarity in the face of authorities that would prefer obfuscation and murk. This month’s Deep Dive is brought to you by Tattlecrime Forums user yuljems whose dedication to the Cannibal Cabal community and intrepid pursuit of journalistic truth has led them to interrogate the most-fascinating aspect of the Chesapeake Ripper case: the FBI consultant who helped Hannibal the Cannibal get away._

Will Graham was something of an enigma to the entire Cannibal Cabal forum even before we were officially our own website and now that he’s gone missing-- and is presumed dead-- there’s more speculation about him than ever. Was he a mild mannered professor? The infamous Copycat Killer? A mere FBI consultant or a co-conspirator in some kind of government-sanctioned cull of undesirables? Most recently, a question has arisen in true crime fandom that’s down right ludacris: Was Will Graham an empath?

This comes from, at best, well-intentioned pseudoscience. There is no evidence of the kind of psychic empathy Graham was described as having by BAU Director Jack Crawford; experimentation in empathy and precognition dating back decades show that even the best-informed guesses do little better than chance.

So what’s the deal with Will Graham? Are a good memory and top-notch observation skills really so rare as to warrant a special FBI consultation a la BBC’s Sherlock?

Evidence points to a more mundane reality: Will Graham was a fraud. We usually assume that con men have a sort of universal charisma, the kind of glib charm that defines narcissists, and it is easy to brush Will Graham as lacking the social chops to pull of this kind of large-scale scam, but give the guy some credit. He was clearly more than capable of luring in those whose attention he deemed useful. It’s no secret that he was a “patient” Hannibal Lecter’s for over a year. During his brief stint as The Copycat Killer-- where he was supposedly framed by Lecter whose escape he ultimately facilitated-- he had prior contact with both The Minnesota Shrike and Randall Tier. FBI reports suggest that Graham was even involved with The Red Dragon prior to killing him…

**Author's Note:**

> [Check out the ongoing series soundtrack here.](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLO98SuiduiAezMGzG3iFmKm2UzBtNWyxJ)
> 
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